


64 degrees

by markives



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 7dream as a dystopian friend group, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Dystopia, Friendship, Other, Platonic Relationships, maybe eventual romantic relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27485548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markives/pseuds/markives
Summary: Sometimes when he's alone and it's 64 degrees, he swears he could reach it, if he just tried hard enough, just stretched his arm out a little more.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun & NCT Dream Ensemble
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	64 degrees

“The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while we live.” -Norman Cousins

The rain always seems colder around this time of year. Though nothing ever really changed, Renjun could swear that when autumn starts leaning into winter, the rain feels a bit colder for that short span of time. The weather is always the same in the Deadlands, though. Always chilly, but never enough to wear a proper jacket.

Renjun had taken a detour on his way to school, having left earlier than usual but not wanting to arrive too early. Renjun looked around as he walked, though there wasn't much to see. Everything in the Deadlands looked muted, not much color apart from various shades of yellowish-beiges and dusty grays, smoke and soot were permanent ornaments scattered across the landscape. Not many faces to see either, as for the most part, anyone roaming the streets usually kept their faces turned to the ground.

The path he took was rather long and winding, the pavement ahead contorting into different directions. The occasional stray dog would run up to him, covered in ash and dust, yet eyes big and hopeful. Renjun thought he wasn't all too different from the dog.

Soon, up ahead, Renjun could see the silhouette of the school building appear through the thick foggy air. It wasn’t much but it was all the children of the Deadlands knew. The building used to be home to a factory, but when the old school building was demolished, long before Renjun was born, the Government converted one of the small factories into an educational complex.

Smoke billowed from the large columns atop the school. Though it was a school, some parts of the factory were still in use, mainly by students who were looking to work in the field after graduating, not like there were many other options.

“Renjun!” A voice called out behind him. He turned around, spotting his friend Mark running towards him through the gloom. He recognized Mark by the bright green hat he donned on his head every day, the rare burst of color beaming through the thick air. As the grinning boy's face came into view, Renjun felt his blood, hot, coursing through his veins. He will always be eternally grateful for Mark’s very existence.

“Renjunnie! How’re you doing?” The boy asked.

“Like always.” Renjun responded with a small smile. This is always his answer, but Mark will always ask anyways. “How’re you, Mark?”

“Like always.” Mark responded. This is also always his answer. As small as it was, Renjun took comfort in their small verbal routine.

The pair looked towards the large chain link fence topped with rings of barbed wire which encircled the campus premises, and slowly made their way through the opened gates and into the school.

-+-+-+-+

Renjun didn’t understand the purpose of school. He didn’t understand the purpose of anything, really. School was pointless because there wasn’t much they learned that would ever be useful for them in their lifetime, graduating was pointless because there was really no opportunity or social mobility, hell, even the barbed wire topping the school fencing was pointless, as there were no birds that could ever fly through the ash and smog that made up their atmosphere.

School had already ended for the day, so now Renjun was making his way outside to meet with his group of friends. They had all met in school. Well, technically, it started with Mark and Renjun, but then slowly expanded until new people were brought in, and their little friend group became what it is today.

“Hi!” Renjun beamed as a small group of people came into view. Only Mark, Chenle and Donghyuck had arrived so far, the other three boys’ last classes being farther into campus, which caused them to take a little longer to get there.

“How’s your day been Renjun?” Mark asked cheerfully.

“I barely paid attention in my classes today, so good I guess.” He responded.

“Gotta pay attention in class Renjun, how else are you gonna pick up a job at the factories?” Donghyuck laughed out. Renjun sensed a trace of bitterness in his voice. They all knew that they’d end up there either way.

The group of friends continued to converse about mindless topics, or at least the other three did. Renjun chose to stay silent and observe the other three boys instead. Hyuck and Chenle were both boys brought in by Mark. 

Chenle was fairly intimidating at first but warmed up well to the group. He had a cold aura about him to strangers, but was, in reality, a pleasant and cheerful boy with a blunt sense of humor.

Hyuck was infamous in the school for being disobedient to the higher ups. His notorious acts had even gotten him a summons from the State, though that was quickly dropped, as he was written off as a troubled kid who desperately wanted attention. Renjun knew better than that. He respected the younger greatly, though the two did bicker a fair amount, there was no real malice behind any of it.

A couple minutes passed when Renjun felt an incoming presence of people behind him. He turned and spotted Jeno and Jaemin. These two boys were practically inseparable. Though Renjun knew they arrived together because they had their last class together, he knew they would have arrived together either way.

“Hey best friends!” Jaemin smiled at them, wrapping his arms around Renjun and Mark’s necks. He was a very touchy boy, which Renjun admired.

“Hi!” Jeno beamed, smiling more with his eyes rather than his mouth. He was a more laid back person, but still showed love in his own small ways.

Shortly after their greetings, the last boy arrived, completing the bunch.

Park Jisung was the youngest of the group. He was a soft spoken boy with a smile often gracing his soft features. He was kind and respectful and often took a more backseat role in their group.

“Are we ready?” Mark asked.

The boys let out a cacophony of whoops and verbal responses, and then they were on their way.

-+-+-+-+

They always hung out in different spots, but they always ended up in the same place by the end of the day; an old playground that sat at the edge of the river. The playground consisted of tire swings, heavy chains hanging from various surfaces, tall metal structures on the brink of collapse with dirty metal slides attached to them, and a tall water sprinkler that was built from an old factory chimney, but was long out of use due to its water coming from the river, but the river was now far too dirty and polluted to even think about letting anyone splash around in it’s contents. Renjun thinks they're the only ones who still know of its existence.

The key appeal of the playground was that it looked towards the lights. Across the river, a far way ahead, there were beams of lights swinging through the air. The atmosphere by the river, though clearer than most of the Deadlands, was still thick and hard to see through. These beams of light, however, never failed to break through the yellowish-gray air. Though they can be faintly seen all throughout the Land if you looked hard enough, they could clearly be seen from here. On Sundays, when the factories were closed and the citizens took to the Government ordered land work, and the air had a day to breathe, the lights seemed to pierce through the smog, over everyone’s head. It was like something holy that was meant to be praised, like a nameless, faceless god. The group of friends had named it Dreamland.

By the time they had finally retreated to their spot, night had fallen. Some boys sat swinging on the tire swings, while others arranged themselves on the ground. The aura of the playground was unsettling at night, though it wasn't much different in daylight either. It did hold a feeling of home, Renjun thought. It would be impossible for it not to, after all the years they've spent coming to this exact place.

A small chatter had fallen over them, each person having their own side conversions. This was suddenly interrupted by Jisung’s voice, who had up until then, sat in silence, staring with an unfixed gaze across the river.

“Do you guys think we can ever make it to Dreamland?”

Silence.

Dreamland was a common topic in their conversations. No one knew what lay underneath those beaming lights, but they had crafted a collective image of what they thought might lay there. Images of a world of light, a place where people roaming the streets can walk with their heads held high, no fear shaking the contents of their souls onto dirty streets to be ravaged by hungry dogs, a world where they can feel happy without guilt eating away at the frayed edges of their minds. No one had ever dared ask the question, because they were too afraid of the answer, too afraid to burst that blissful bubble of hope they had carefully built around their little sad playground.

The question sat heavy in the night, marinating in their blood, sinking into their bones. All the late nights of delusion seemed to catch up to them all at once as they were forced to confront the question.

Would they ever be able to make it to Dreamland?


End file.
